Virgin for Sale
by Angkeats
Summary: Gabriella Montez is fed up of being a virgin and on a whim to find her perfect man, and true love, she advertises herself on Ebay. Lifelong best friend, Troy Bolton, has something to say about her plan- and none of it is good!
1. Virgin for sale

Hey I hope everyone came over to read this from 'Ellie' because I just wanted to tell you all, that YOU had ME in tears with your reviews! You know you write a story and you're not sure about it but you post it anyway and then actually, people love it the most, well those days are good for me! I'm having a tough time at work at the moment and your reviews keep me going :)

This is a two-part short-ish story. Hope you enjoy.

**1. Virgin for Sale**

"Hey, you have got to come and see this, Troy!" Chad called to his best friend from the lounge.

"Are you on EBay again?" Troy asked knowingly from the next room.

"Yeah, but I've never seen something like this for sale before…" Chad remarked as Troy joined him in the living room.

As Troy sat down, Chad marvelled at their tight friendship when they were polar opposite in looks. Troy was white; blue eyed and had straight golden brown hair. Chad was dark skinned; dark eyed and had wiry afro hair the colour of the night. But when their eyes met and they grinned at each other, there was mutual trust and affection bounding between them. Troy cuddled in next to him on the sofa to look at his laptop screen.

"Ok show me," Troy insisted.

"Here…" Chad tilted the screen to show him.

"Virgin for sale. Fed up with Frogs. Just wants Prince Charming." Troy read the description out loud, the looked at Chad quizzically.

"Wait till you see this…" Chad sighed, scrolling back up to the picture and looking at his friend to wait for his reaction.

"Gabriella?" Troy's eyes widened as the shock hit him in the solar plexus.

"Yup." Chad affirmed, knowing the girl in the picture meant a lot to both of them, but more to his buddy. They spent almost all their spare time together- best friends since kindergarten.

"She would have told me!" Troy cried in bewilderment.

"It's not the kind of thing you would tell to a guy.." Chad suggested with a look to his friend.

"Wait a second…I know what's happened!" Troy stood up quickly, putting his hands to his forehead, his fingers extending into his hair. "Her account got hacked! Yeah, that's what happened, someone hacked her account and….I'm going to see her to tell her."

"Troy, I don't think…" Chad began carefully.

"I'll see you later, Chad." He stated without stopping to listen, the front door closing soundly behind him as Chad remained on the sofa and sighed out.

"Good luck, buddy."

"Gabriella!" THUMP THUMP THUMP

Troy banged on his best friend's door with more force than was really needed, but he felt like he had to get in there and tell her what was going on _right now._ Her honour was at stake and he felt responsible for protecting her at least a little bit.

"GABI! WAKE UP!" He yelled again, greeted two seconds later by the front door swishing open angrily.

"For god's sake, Troy…" Gabi moaned, her hair dishevelled and still clad in her pyjama short-set.

Gabriella Montez was a nurse who worked weird hours and didn't own a normal body-clock. Her best friend from little school, Troy Bolton, often harangued her out of bed during her day-sleep when he had something pressing on his mind and she hated him for it. But his big blue eyes and floppy brown hair and puppy-dog eagerness just somehow persuaded her to let him in every time.

It was a fact, Troy was irresistible. She hadn't felt it in quite the same way some of his girlfriends had but in these moments, his charm even melted her anger into silent acceptance.

"I have to come in, there's something you have to know…" He announced quickly, his eyebrows leaping around on his handsome face. She smiled in amusement and widened her door.

"It couldn't wait four more hours?" She yawned as she padded after him.

"No it couldn't! Oh my god, Gabi, someone has hacked into your EBay account!" He spluttered, turning to face her now they were both inside and he pushed his hands out to implore with her.

She blinked twice and met his gaze, "Is that all?"

"What do you mean, is that all? You should see what they've done! They put you up for sale, Gabi! They put your _body _for sale…" He paused, not quite able to say the words he had seen on Chad's screen that morning. Looking at the petite Latino before him, it was hard to imagine her with any man _in that way, _let alone one who had paid for her.

Gabi crossed her arms and took a breath, knowing what was going to come with her next words.

"Nobody broke into my account, Troy. I put myself up for auction." She stated, and then went by him into the kitchen to make her much-needed coffee seeing as it was likely she wouldn't get any more sleep now before her night-shift.

"WHAT?" She heard him explode in the next room before he stormed into the kitchen behind her and stalked her against the fridge, his hands coming up to grasp her upper arms. "What were you _thinking?"_

"Troy…" She frowned at his uncharacteristic behaviour. "Let go, you're hurting me…"

"Do you want to get _raped?"_ He questioned harshly. "Why would you do that, god I thought your virginity was precious to you, not something to be sold like a _belonging!_" He practically screeched into her face.

"I honestly can't see what the big deal is," she answered coolly, wincing as his fingers bit into her skin. "I thought it would be fun to see who would pay the most money to be with me. I'm twenty-two and I've never had sex. It's time I changed that." She said resolutely.

"You…oh my god…" His hands went to his hair as he sighed out in half-humour, half pain, managing a grimacing laugh. "This is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard! It's not you, Gabs. Who gave you this idea?" He demanded.

"Troy!" She reprimanded as he bruised her skin.

"I'm sorry…" His voice softened, his blue eyes like a broken sky as he pleaded with her silently, his hands softening to rub her tender skin. "I'm sorry."

"It was my idea," she said finally, staring at his t-shirted chest, answering his previous question. "I really am fed up of being virgin."

"Can't you meet someone; get to know them, do it the old fashioned way?" He asked.

"I've tried that. Every guy I date either you or Chad manage to put off somehow. No-one is ever good enough for me according to you two. It's like having two big brothers spoiling your love life…" She muttered.

Troy jerked in shock at her comparing him to a brother. Is that what she really thought of him? An overbearing older brother? Didn't they tell each other _everything_? Didn't their bond go deeper than that?

He had thought so. He had hoped so. And although he couldn't quite work out why, it was only now that he thought about it, he realised she was right. They _did _sabotage her romances. Chad always joked he was doing it to help his buddy out, intimating that Troy would one day realise _he _wanted to be with Gabi but Troy had always laughed that off. She was his best friend. He could never…it wasn't even imaginable…

"I'll help you find someone, I promise. Just please take that stupid ad down." He begged.

"No, Troy. I want to do this. I'll have sex with whoever I want." She added stubbornly.

He knew not to argue further. Once her chin jutted up and her arms crossed her chest, there would be no reasoning with her. No budging.

He sighed, wondering if he had backed her into this corner, fearing his overprotective reaction might be the very reason she was even contemplating such a scheme.

He looked into her brown eyes for a long moment, trying to read what lay beneath her feisty scowl and found she wasn't letting anything away. He sighed and stepped back; releasing her from the prison he'd held her in against the fridge.

"Okay." He said, drained.

She looked up in surprise, almost wanting him to argue further. "Okay?"

"Yeah, I get it. It's your life. I have no right to tell you how to live it." He conceded.

She looked at him for another moment, a little hurt at his lack of further contest. Then she busied herself with the kettle to make her warm drink, her hands shaking now with nerves at the intensity of the last few minutes.

"I want to meet him, though." He said behind her, making her laugh as he fulfilled his role of protector.

"No, Troy." She said simply, handing him a mug and sitting with him at the breakfast table.

"Why not?" He asked calmly.

"Because you'll say something to put him off!" She arced back. "This is a business transaction." She insisted.

"What about your heart?" He questioned, squinting at her unemotional words. "What about _making love_?"

"That's a fairytale, Troy. Real-life doesn't work like that." She replied, her faraway look sad and resolved.

"It _can_…Gabi, it can." He insisted softly. "It doesn't matter how many guys you _have sex _with…it doesn't mean anything without love."

"Well I don't have love…" She dropped her gaze to her mug, running her finger around the rim distractedly. "But I might find it this way."

Troy flicked his gaze over his friend and knew he couldn't let her go through with her plan. But he knew better than to argue with her. He'd have to find another way to talk her round and he hadn't figured out how yet, but he was going to enrol Chad's help in this thing and anyone else who would be willing to listen.

"I have to get back to the court…" He said, of his day job as a basketball coach.

"Okay maybe see you later." She offered.

He stood and hovered before her for a second, his face creased with worry. There were so many things he wanted to say. There were so many things he _should _say. But not one of them came out as he turned and walked away.

"Get down the left side! Ade!" Troy yelled at his young charges with more ferocity than usual, the whole start of his day playing on his mind. He'd wished Chad had never showed him his stupid find now and he wished he'd had a few more days of unknowing bliss.

But at least this way he could keep an eye on things and make sure Gabriella didn't do anything more stupid than she already had. He closed his eyes and winced at his thought. _She wasn't stupid. _She was the most intelligent girl he knew. Then why was she doing this?

When they had talked about their futures, while at an age where anything was possible, she had spoken of getting married, having children and having the whole nine yards. Her job brought her into contact with young, single doctors, several of whom she had tried to date with no success and Troy wondered who he _could _picture her settling down with.

A Doctor might seem like the perfect dream man but he hadn't met one yet that didn't make his hackles rise. Come to think of it, he hadn't met any of Gabi' dates yet that didn't make his hackles rise. Perhaps he really was her dating bad karma.

"I said GET DOWN THERE!" He roared to the eighteen-year-old college boy, running down the length of the court to anticipate him doing the same while he ran his jumbled thoughts through his head.

Maybe he really did have a problem, he mused. He had been friends with Gabi for so long, the thought of someone else stealing her away was maybe a little too much to imagine.

But he'd dated other women…well a few. He frowned. The last date he'd had was over nine months ago. Every weekend he spent with Gabi and Chad. He didn't make room in his life for anyone else and there was an understandable envy of his friendship with the beautiful little Latino. He'd always chosen his friends over love, but he knew the difference between sex and making love. Mostly because he'd only ever had sex. He'd never let himself fall in love to be able to share an intimacy like that and now he wondered if he wasn't holding himself back as much as he was Gabi.

"Goddamn it!" He exploded as Ade missed his guard point and the second of his practicing teams scored against his new player.

"Dude…" Chad grasped his shoulder and Troy looked up, shocked to see him. "You need to breathe."

"What are you doing here?" Troy demanded cagily.

"Taylor told me that the EBay thing was real. I kind of guessed you wouldn't be doing too well…" Chad remarked drily.

Ade's distraught face told Troy all he needed to know and he closed his eyes in regret. "Shit…" He sighed to himself, then went over to the youngster and touched his shoulder.

"Hey, you did good out there. Ignore me, I'm in a foul mood and it's not your fault." He apologised.

Ade nodded, his face brightening as he sprinted off to the showers with the other boys.

"I am losing it…" Troy muttered to himself as he tracked back to Chad, putting his head into his hand as they lowered onto the benches.

"Look, I'm as shocked as you are. Gabriella is the _last _person I expected to do something like this…" Chad shared.

"She said we ruin her dates." Troy explained, looking his friend squarely in the eye. "She said she's fed up of being a virgin and she wants it over with."

Chad shook his head. "She would regret it if she did this…I know her too well."

"Then why is she? I still don't get it. I asked her who gave her the idea and she swore it was her own." Troy commented.

"I don't know…some of those nursing sorority's can be pretty cliquey. Do you think they've got some bet going? Do you think they goaded her to do it?" Chad asked.

"This is Gabriella, Chad," Troy pursed his lips and lifted his brows. "She takes _a lot _of convincing to do something she doesn't want to do…"

"What if she did though?" He asked back, his mind working overtime. "Say if she did want to lose her virginity and she felt like it wasn't happening fast enough and then someone comes along and dares her to sell it. To a desperate young girl that would seem like an exciting prospect."

"She's not desperate…" Troy denied quickly, and then flicked his eyes over Chad's familiar face. "What aren't you telling me?"

"She told Tay she was desperate to settle down and find the 'one'," Chad ventured, licking his lips.

"She's twenty-two!" Troy cried out.

"I think she sees sex and marriage hand in hand. She's traditional like that." Chad shrugged.

"She's traditional? She's selling herself on EBay for Christ's sake?" He stood up and grabbed a ball, throwing it across the court with temper, watching as it smacked angrily off the bricks and flew back onto the smooth surface.

"She thinks she's going to find, love, Troy. She thinks she can buy it." Chad suggested gently.

"She told Taylor all of this?" Troy asked, narked.

"Only about settling down. I kind of worked out the rest." Chad admitted.

"Then why didn't she tell me?" Troy whispered out to the empty room, his buddy still seated behind him; in safe quarters. "Why didn't she tell me she felt like this?"

"Did you ever think it was because of you?" Chad asked wryly.

"Don't start this again…" Troy sighed turning back and sitting down again.

"I mean it. It's so obvious to everyone but you that you two have something special. What if she wanted _you _to be the guy that she spent the rest of her life with, Troy? What if she's looking elsewhere because you didn't pick up the hint?"

Troy filtered Chad's words through his mind and hated how everything had just got really scary. Before it had all been about Gabi. It was about _her _decision, _her _stupid actions and _her _feelings. Now suddenly it was about him. How could he possibly be to blame for Gabi's ridiculous idea that she could buy love via the internet? He hadn't done anything that would make her think she needed to do that. And he certainly hadn't missed any clues.

"What hint, Chad? Did I miss something, because I don't remember her telling me she wanted me to be her first?" He remarked sourly to cover his real emotion.

"What about on her last birthday when she asked you to dance?" Chad enquired gently.

"What about it?" Troy barked back.

"Did you dance with her?"

"No! She had that silly looking intern drooling over her all night; I couldn't even get near her…."

"She wanted you to dance, Troy. She didn't want that silly-looking intern all over her, don't you get it?"

"Chad, what is this? I'm not Ebenezer Scrooge needing the ghost of the past to tell me what I missed…" He grizzled.

"What about Valentines?" Chad lifted a brow.

"We went to a singles bar together!" Troy defended.

"Did either of you actually talk to anyone else?" Chad checked.

"No, we got talking about the old times and…"

"Who started it?" Chad interrupted.

"Who started what?" Troy asked confusedly, pulled form his train of thought.

"The conversation about old times that kept you wrapped up in each other all night?"

"Well, Gabi said it reminded her of our prom night…" Troy opened his mouth, not finishing his sentence as several pennies clunked into place in his brain. "You think she was keeping me away from the other girls?"

Chad nodded. "Seems to me neither of you have a damn clue." He added.

"Hey, I never…" Troy began again.

"So you don't mind if she sleeps with someone else then?" He asked pointedly.

"Well, I…it's weird to imagine it…" He groped for excuses.

"But you're okay with it, right?" Chad asked again, innocently.

Troy pressed his lips in, not wanting to admit what seemed to be plainly obvious to everyone but himself.

"Yeah, of course I am." He lied.

Chad shook his head and squinted at him. "You have _got _to stop pretending you don't feel…"

"Hey, I feel. I care about her, you know that. I'm just worried she'll get hurt." He excused.

"Dude, I've known you as long as I've known my brothers and me and you are probably tighter. I don't know what made you think you couldn't have a little love but you can, dude. I'm living proof."

"If someone knew me as well as Gabriella does…I don't see how they _could _love me," Troy admitted softly, pressing his thumb into his other palm as he fought his vulnerability. "I've made so many mistakes."

Chad gripped him on the shoulder and gently swayed him side to side. "So what? You're a hero now and that's all that counts."

Was he a hero? Troy wondered as he drove back home with Chad, ready for a good night of sleep to wake up and realise today was one big nightmare.

He was deemed the local hero after he had started his own basketball master class off campus for the college kids who couldn't make a team at their own schools. They were a mixed bunch for that reason- some of them had hard backgrounds but they left it all on the side when they played, wearing their hearts on their sleeves as they battled through every game.

He'd never been prouder of them. But his mistakes throughout his cocky teen years more than made up for his sainthood now. When he'd won that final with the Wildcats and they'd lifted the trophy, he'd gone to University of Albuquerque and paraded his talent like an arrogance on his chest. He'd changed deep down with belief he was the best and his ego had ruled his life.

Gabriella had stuck by him for those two years. He didn't know how she managed it; or how she ever forgave him, but she had refused to leave and eventually she was the one who had pulled him through. Once he began to focus on the off-court benefits more than he should have, he lost his touch. The scholarship ended and his college career was cut short. Gabi had helped him build 'Wings of Albuquerque' basketball team and had guided him while he was lost and alone.

But it still stuck with him. It still haunted him that he had been less than respectful to everyone around him and although he and Chad had called it quits, he still felt like he owed Gabriella so much.

Least of all her unending supply of love. He'd never thought of her before like _that_. He'd never really considered them together. Sure, she was the most beautiful girl he'd met. Her hair shone and her eyes danced and she was kooky beyond cool. But to imagine someone like her even considering him as boyfriend material? That was somewhere he had never gone.

As he came inside with Chad he threw his keys down and agreed numbly when his buddy suggested they get pizza and wait up for Gabi. They took it in turns to pick her up on her early morning finishes to make sure she was safe and then to help her wind down from her sometimes stressful job. She might have her own apartment ten minutes away but she may as well move in the amount of time she spent there, or he at hers.

"I'm going out for a walk, I'll get some ice-cream," Troy told his friend distractedly.

"Let's hope you find some answers." Chad said to himself once the door had closed.

"Hi Neil!" Gabi beamed at her favourite patient, seeing him sitting up in bed and eating what he described as the 'disgusting' hospital food.

"Do I have to eat this?" The young man grumbled. "When can I go?"

"Two more tests…to make sure you didn't _really _injure yourself, then you're out," she smiled assuringly.

"You're too pretty to be a nurse," he complimented.

"Oh, thank you!" Gabi blushed, turning away to her next patient only to find Doctor Arnold behind her- better known as Nick.

"Nick, hi!" She smiled again in the friendly, attractive way she always did.

"Hi, Gabriella. He's right; you do look especially pretty today…" The tall, blonde doctor said to her, his good-looks not entirely unnoticed by the petite Latino.

She rolled her eyes and pressed her lips in at the side. "Well you would say that, you're my boss…"

"I…uh…actually I wondered if you might like to go for a drink- after work?" He asked.

She looked up at him and opened her mouth, stunned. "Well…I…"

"Unless you have a boyfriend in which case I take it back…" he added quickly, smiling innocently.

"No, I don't have a boyfriend." She answered this first.

"Not the brown haired guy I see you with sometimes?" He checked, knowing Troy dropped her off and picked her up on occasion.

She shook her head. "Nope. Just friends."

"How about it then?" He asked again, bolstered by this news.

"I finish at 1am today but I have a normal shift Friday. I could meet you after work then?" She suggested.

He smiled slowly and she felt herself smiling back. "Great! I'll see you then."

Gabi smiled quizzically at herself before she went back to her rounds, finally heading back to the nurse's station at the main desk to type up her notes.

"So?" Candy asked her with interest.

"So?" Gabi asked back, playing it cool.

"Nick…I saw him chatting you up!" She teased.

"We're going for a drink, it's nothing major." Gabi played it down.

"Does he know about your EBay thing?" Candy arched a brow.

"Look, you guys told me to have a little fun and relax a little, did you not?" She defended.

"I'm not sure that's what I had in mind…" Candy derided.

"Well, it's done. I want to feel a little sexy for once, you know?" Gabi beseeched.

"When you get your hands on , you tell me you don't feel sexy then…" The black girl laughed heartily.

"Dr Big?" Gabi echoed.

"He's ALL man…" Candy grinned happily, leaving Gabi to swallow nervously as she tried not to imagine Nick naked.

"Oh, right…" She commented weakly, focusing carefully on her work.

"Don't worry, honey. He'll warm you up good an' proper…" Candy cackled again at her own sex-obsessed mind and Gabi blocked out her comments until the older lady had left the station.

"What in the world was I thinking?" She whispered to herself as she typed in the rest of her entries.

"Hey, sorry I'm late…" Troy offered as he approached the main desk in his check surf shorts and flip-flops teamed with a creased white tee. He'd clearly fallen asleep on the sofa because his hair was sexy-messy and his face bore cushion marks.

"It's okay, Nick was keeping me company until he got buzzed out a minute ago," Gabi smiled, going around the desk with Troy as they made their way back out of the building.

"Who's Nick?" He asked predictably.

"My boss. He started a month ago, I introduced you, you might remember him? Tall, blonde?" She described.

"Oh, ken-doll," Troy remembered derisively.

"Don't be mean." Gabi admonished. "We're going for a drink on Friday."

"With _him_?" Troy spat.

"Why not?" Gabi asked coolly.

"He's…well…I just thought you would…like a normal, boy next door type of guy," Troy argued ineffectively.

"Boy next door?" Gabi mused. "How do you know he isn't?"

"He's too damn good-looking. He looks like he walked out of Abercrombie and Fitch and into your hospital…" He grizzled as they seated themselves in his car and he prepared to drive her back to his and Chad's flat.

"Then I mustn't go out with him," She replied drily. "God forbid I should date a handsome man."

"If you call that handsome…" He sulked as he pulled out into the traffic, squinting into his rear mirror.

"I wonder how many bids I have." She said to rile him even more.

"Does _Nick_ know you're up for sale? I wonder how much he would pay…ouch!" Troy winced as Gabi slapped him around the back of the head sharply.

"Don't be so crass."

"You're the one selling yourself and putting a price on your most precious gift, Gabi. Don't punish me for telling the truth."

"How many men do you think actually see it as a gift, Troy? These days, not many. Probably very few, in fact. It might be some kind of kinky fantasy but in reality, the only guys who would find a virgin a bonus are the ones I never get to meet. That's the very reason I am doing this, to find the guys who appreciate an untouched woman."

Troy shook his head as he pulled up outside the flat, looking across to her in the car. "_Any_ guy would think it were a gift if his girl were saving themselves just for him."

"Really Troy?" She asked with a brow arch. "Would you?"

He paused; realising Chad's words were coming steadily true. What was she saying? That she was saving herself for _him_? Only that as he didn't want her, she was going elsewhere with her wares?

"I would." He assured. "It's one of the things I admire most about you."

"Admire…right…" She got out of the car and headed up the stairs to his apartment, leaving him to dash after her.

"What's so wrong about that?" He demanded, reaching the top of the stairs as she just turned toward his door.

"You admire the fact that I'm a virgin and you've never slept with one…" She accused, tapping her toe as she folded her arms and waited for him to unlock his door.

"Am I supposed to go out _looking _for virgins?" He asked testily as they came inside, via the hallway. "Am I meant to _buy one _off of EBay?"

Gabi swirled and slapped him sharply across his cheek, the second blow she had dealt within the hour.

"Ouch!" He complained, looking at her with fury.

"Don't you dare stand there and belittle me, Troy!" Gabi pointed her finger at him, her dark eyes radiating thunder. "You know nothing about this!"

"I would if you just _told _me!" He shouted back, inches from the living room doorway where Chad could hear every word and see them standing off in the hall.

"Told you _what _Troy? That I want to be touched? That I want to be fucked? Is that what you want to hear? Or maybe you'd like to hear how it _excites _me that I'm being paid…"

"You could have just said if you wanted a fuck, Gabi." He gritted his teeth, shocked by her outburst, surprised even that she was so in touch with her sexual side when she normally hid it so well. "I would have done it for free."

The third strike hurt the most and not because of the pain slicing down his face, but because of the sobs that erupted from her as she turned into the living room and ran into Chad's waiting arms.

His dark-skinned friend looked at him over her shoulder as he rubbed her back and asked him silently 'what the heck are you doing?', only Troy couldn't have answered if he'd tried. _He _should be the one she came sobbing to, _he _should be her shoulder to cry and he shouldn't have said any of the things he had done, but it was too late to take them back.

It disgusted him to think of anyone else touching Gabi in _that way. _Intimately. And he hadn't been lying, he would have had sex with her if she really wanted to lose her virginity that damn badly because at least he would be careful with her. At least he cared. And now some guy from anywhere in the world was going to get his hands all over her and the precious gift she had kept for so long would be gone in a wisp, never to be regained.

She had no idea what she was giving away.

He sighed and left his two friends, knowing he had gone too far and not knowing right now what to do to correct his gigantic mistake. He padded up to his room and switched on his monitor to his PC, wondering in spite of himself what Gabi's worth was.

If he had any hope of stopping her then he would have to bid himself.

'Virgin for Sale'- 68bids. $8,000

_Eight thousand dollars? _Troy closed his eyes as dizziness swam before them. He couldn't pay the bill, but he didn't particularly care as he tapped in the numbers.

$10,000- are you sure you want to place this bid?

_Yes, never been so goddamn sure in my life._

"I'm sorry that Troy was such an asshole last night…" Chad offered, walking Gabi to her door.

"You know what? He's been nothing but an asshole since I placed that auction." She mused.

"Are you sure this is what you want, Gabi?" Chad asked gently.

"It's the only way." She beseeched.

"You'll find someone you love." Chad argued.

"I know." She smiled bemusedly. "I already did. And he didn't feel the same so now I have to make other plans."

"You didn't give him a chance to feel the same." Chad insisted softly, pleading with her brown eyes.

"I'm not talking about Troy." She swallowed, dropping her gaze.

"Yeah, you are." He nodded. "And he didn't even know you were a possibility until 2 days ago."

"He's had twenty years!" She argued back, and then paused. "He's still that same arrogant, self righteous ass that he was when he started U of A."

"No, he's not. And you know it. He's so damn scared of making another mistake….if only you knew how much he wants this." Chad begged.

"Did he tell you that?" She asked.

"Does he need to? Everyone can see you two are _made _for each other."

"Everyone but Troy."

"Have you ever told him how you feel?" Chad challenged.

"What and be ridiculed?" She mused.

"Then you don't know what you could be missing," he suggested. "Before you go through with this thing, just think about it."

Gabi nodded and went inside her home, more than ready for her sleep. She just hoped nobody woke her up this time.

_Unless it was Troy._


	2. Sold to

**Ah thanks everyone I'm so glad you like this! I was a bit worried thinking you might be upset it's only 2 parts but it had to be short and sweet!**

**I'm not one to bang on about people reviewing but I know around 400 people have hit on this story so I would hope a few more might review if they actually read it, so if that's you reading and not reviewing please think about it, us writers love to hear your views :)**

**I'm posting Taxi after this!**

**2. Sold to…**

"Oh my daisies!" Candy sang as Gabriella came into the ward, the instant colour of flowers hitting her as the entire nurse's station was drowned by bunches and bunches of blooms.

"What the heck?" Gabi asked, putting her bag down as she studied the floral wave enveloping her desk and everyone else's, too.

"The cards are all from that lovely young man you bring in…" Candy smiled.

"Troy?" Gabi gasped, knowing Candy had a soft spot for her friend.

"He finally admitted he loved me!" Candy laughed to herself. "You know, he's _all man_, too. Mmm-mm."

Gabi smiled at her colleague bewilderedly then noticed a card among the mayhem, addressed to her.

"We have to clear these out!" She said practically. "Ask Bobbie to come and wheel them out to the patients…"

"Hell no!" Candy hugged her irises. "These are mine!"

"Fine, keep those, but lets get rid of the others, they're taking up too much room."

"What does it say?" Candy asked of the card.

"I don't know. I don't have time to read it now. I'll read it later." She sighed; fretting about anyone else seeing the display Troy had left for her.

/

'_Dear Gabi,_

_You were right, as always. I was a complete jerk. I can't even tell you why I was such a jerk because you know what? I just am. It's a fact of life. Like the stars at night and your smile in the morning, it just is._

_But I am truly sorry for the things I said. I can't take them back and I can't pretend I didn't mean them but I am sorry for hurting you._

_I was hurting and I wanted you to hurt that much and well, that just isn't fair, is it?_

_I checked last night and you're up to $10k. I really hope you find what you want but I can't be here to watch. I can't watch you give away your soul to some meaningless buyer that you never met._

_I'm always here for you if you need me, but I can't see you while this is going on. It hurts too much._

_I love you, Gabsicle, Troy x_

"Well?" Candy asked from the staffroom doorway while Gabi sipped her coffee and tried to hold back the tears that cascaded her cheeks.

"He doesn't want to talk to me anymore." She whispered, placing her mug carefully down before convulsing into sobs again.

"What? What about the flowers?" Candy came in and hugged the smaller girl, stroking her dark, curly locks.

"He was a jerk and he said sorry. But he won't speak to me because of the EBay auction…"

"Honey, don't you think it's about time you told him?" Candy begged, scanning the card that Gabi had dropped toward her when she'd broken down.

"This whole _stupid_ idea," she gasped. "I just wanted to _know _how he felt! I just wanted him to admit it was _me _he wanted. I wanted him to fight for me."

"And it was a good idea at the time, darlin', but it backfired. And you can still make that right."

"Don't you get it?" She shook her head. "He never said he wanted me! I could tell him that I love him more than the world goes round right now and he wouldn't _care_!"

"Imay seem old and wrinkled to you, pretty, but I know a thing or two about men. He is running scared, I tell ya. That boy don't know what's hit him round the head and when he wakes up from the fairy dust and sees the way clear, there's no stopping him." She predicted.

"I've been waiting my whole life, Candy. What makes you think things will change now?" She beseeched.

"You got a date tomorrow don'tcha? You got to make the green eyed monster stir before he can fight…"

"Honestly, does this look okay?" Gabi checked with Taylor. Her female friend had come all the way down to the hospital to help her get ready in the ladies for her date with Nick.

"Gabi, you look hot." Taylor assured gently, appreciating the little red silk dress her friend had chosen for her first date with the cute doctor.

"You don't think it's too…" Gabi bit her lower lip, also painted red. Her dark locks were swept to one side- Hollywood glamour-style.

"Nope. It's not too-anything." She repeated.

"So can I call you, if I need to leave?" Gabi checked.

"Sure, you have my number. Just dial me and I'll call back and say Chad has a rash or something…" She offered.

"Ew…" Gabi screwed up her face.

"Ha-ha…" Taylor replied dead-pan. "Now let's get you out of here…"

Gabi nodded and exited the toilets, heading nervously down the corridor toward the hospital exit, where she was meeting Nick. He was stood with his hands in his pockets and he wearing slacks and a pale blazer. He looked pretty handsome, she had to admit. He just didn't incite those butterflies that Troy did when she looked at him the same way.

"Oh, wow…did I ask you out?" He teased as she came out shyly, licking the edges of her teeth.

"Yeah…apparently!" She joked back, cringing at her terrible humour.

"Well lets go before you realise you're way out of my league…" he smiled to put her at ease.

"Sure, okay…" She placed her hand in his elbow crook and headed out into the unknown. A scary place to be.

/

"Taylor! Tay!" Gabi whispered loudly into her phone, though she had no idea why she was whispering because she was hiding in the ladies restroom, well away from Nick.

"Gabi, what's wrong?" Taylor asked back with concern, looking to Chad for support and he came over to hug his girlfriend.

"Oh my god, he's drank too much and he's getting very touchy-feely. He's slurring his words. I can't get away without help. A call is not gonna cut it…"

"Wow, is he stupid, you never drink on a first date…" Taylor screwed up her face.

"Tay, we can talk about the particulars later, just please send Chad down here…" She begged.

"Sure, okay honey." Taylor agreed, ending the call once she had the address, then looking Chad in the face as she redialled on her cell.

"Troy, it's Taylor."

/

"You are _too _naughty" Chad berated his girlfriend, snuggling her neck all the same.

"What? Those two need their heads banging together." She shrugged.

"You're meant to be her _friend. _You sent in the enemy." Chad joked.

"Troy is hardly the enemy…" Taylor dismissed.

"If you saw the way she was with him the last time they were together you might think differently…" He chuckled.

"Good, because one of these days they're gonna get so mad they have to kiss each other. Then they'll put us all out of our misery!"

The restaurant was pretty quiet. It seemed to be past normal eating hours and the few staff left were sitting or lazing by the bar. There was no sign of Nick inside, so Troy wasn't sure what the problem was.

All he knew was that Taylor had called him in a panic to tell him Gabi's date had gone badly with Nick and that she needed picking up. She'd called Taylor but Taylor had to go into work and strangely enough her second rescue call nominee, Chad, was nowhere to be found. Funny that.

Still, he had said he would always be there for Gabi and he was. He wasn't going to turn down the chance to rescue her and possibly redeem himself. Or make things worse, depending how the night went.

"Uhm, Is Gabriella here?" He asked the least-tired looking waiter.

The Spanish-looking man pointed to the ladies restroom and pursed his lips. "You've come to get her?"

"Uh-huh." Troy nodded.

"Thank god! Mama wonders where I got to…" He sighed.

"Okay, I'll be quick." Troy promised, shouldering straight into the restroom and finding Gabi sitting on the floor in her beautiful red dress, her small ankles strapped with red heels and her mouth pouted red, too. God, but she looked amazing. Is this what she would wear when she met the man she was going to…?

"This is the ladies." She remarked.

"I know. I'm your rescue, it's time to go." He stated.

"_You're _my rescue? What happened to Tay and Chad?" She asked, annoyed.

"They got busy. Go figure." He mused.

"I'm not going with you." She decided.

"Gabi, come on." He sighed warily. "The staff are up beyond their hours and you need some sleep…"

"I do, huh?" She asked bitterly, rising from the floor and striding by him.

"That's not what I meant…" He argued, following her out.

"I think I'll walk…" She glared at him, her thick black lashes melding together as she squinted at him, opening the door with a flourish, then instantly gasping for breath as the sharply cold night infiltrated her red silk dress and puckered her nipples.

"Put this on…" He wriggled out of his black hoodie and held it out to her, not missing the reaction the cold had on her body. The breeze was pasting the dress to her skin, silhouetting her perfect curves, her hard peaks taut against the fabric. His mouth watered as he imagined sucking her through that dress and warming her; imagining what noises she might make while he did so.

"I would if you let me," she complained, snapping him out of his daydream, one that rocked him to his core and had his groin instantly hard with longing.

He cleared his husky throat and avoided looking at her while he helped her into the jacket, watching as she wrapped it around her. Her shapely legs were bare, the sleek muscles perfectly showcased in her short dress.

"You look beautiful." He offered in the ensuing pause.

"I thought I was just some cheap hooker looking for a f…" His finger stopped her intended verbal slap, pressing into her soft lips while his soulful blue gaze held hers.

"Everything I said I am ashamed of. You're the most special person I know, Gabs. You're worth more than any amount they're willing to pay." He assured softly, pulling his finger away again.

"So you keep saying, Troy…" She flipped back, determined not to be swayed by the magnetic pull of his eyes.

"Then give me a chance to mean it." He licked his lips nervously.

"What? I don't understand…" She asked.

"Stop dating these stupid drunk doctors and the interns and whoever else it is you attract just by being your beautiful self…" He begged.

"And date you?" She wondered, tipping her head, amusedly.

"Yeah. Date me. I'm as good as any of them and I won't even try and grope your ass…" He said knowingly to which she rolled her eyes.

"Maybe I like getting my ass groped sometimes." She retorted.

"Fine, I'll throw one or two in for free." He recounted back, his eyes twinkling.

"Why, Troy?" She begged. "We've been best friends forever and you've never even looked my way and now you want me to date you?"

"It's worth a try, right? I can't be any worse than the losers you've dated so far and if I am then we'll laugh about it over pizza next week and pretend we never did it."

"I'm not cancelling my auction." She arced her brow.

"I'm not asking you to." He assured.

"Good. Fine." She agreed.

He escorted her to the car with a gentle hand to her back, watching her with affection as she slumped into the seat like a naughty child who'd been found bunking off school.

She crossed her arms over the seatbelt and he looked to her as he drove.

"So what happened with Dr Nick?" He asked interestedly.

"You mean Tay didn't tell you?" She asked back.

"No she just gave me the address…"

"And you just came?" She enquired, surprised.

"Yeah. You needed my help." He replied, then, "Well, you needed _some _help and it was obvious Tay wanted us to talk…"

"But you said you didn't want to see me." She argued.

He stared ahead, not knowing how to answer her accusation.

"I said I couldn't watch you give yourself away to another man. I didn't say I didn't want to see you." He counter-acted in a soft voice. She wasn't sure when he had started talking like that because she wasn't used to it, but it brought her gaze round to him as she wondered about the hidden message of his words.

"You can't watch me give myself away to another man?" She repeated. The other words she wanted to say weren't quite ready to come out, because she wasn't sure of their conviction yet.

"I've known you my whole life and I know what you're about, Gabs. You're heart is the biggest, your face is the prettiest and…well you are everything a guy dreams about at night. When you told me you just wanted to have sex…it broke every idea I had about you. You were like a nun or something, just a china doll in your glass case, only for looking, never to be touched…"

"Troy, what are you saying?" Gabi wondered though his fog of confusing words.

"That I hadn't ever thought of you _in that way_ before. Not until the image was graphically printed into my mind when your auction came up…" he muttered.

"And now…" She prompted, carefully_, _thinking this could go either way. He could either tell her that she was sexy and actually, he would like to think of her _in that way _some more, or…

"And now…now I don't know what I feel anymore…" He admitted.

"Oh." She sighed out with disappointment, taking his hand as he helped her from the car and then walked her to her door.

"I'm glad you called tonight." He husked as they hovered outside.

"Why's that?" She asked back, coolly.

"One, because your date with the perfect doctor went wrong…" he smirked. "Two, because I got to rescue you for once…"

"And three?" She counted knowingly.

"I got to talk to you. Without fighting." He reached up and cupped her cheek, brushing his thumb back so he could kiss her there, and not on the lips like she hoped.

"Good night Troy." She parted, about to step away.

"Goodnight, beautiful." He replied, making her fling him a look.

If he thought flattery and a last-minute change of heart would knock her off her quest then he was wrong. She wasn't going to let his seemingly new affections sway her. He had to do _way _better than that to show her he cared.

/

"Aidan! Get in the mix!" Troy encouraged as his newest team member strayed outside the zone again. "That's it, good!"

It was their first game since Aidan had joined and he was doing remarkably well, if he didn't keep getting pulled out of position by the opposition team.

Troy watched with baited breath as the boy knocked the ball out of the shooter's hands and towards his team- mate setting up a run back down the court.

"Way to go, Aidan!" Gabi called loudly with a whoop from behind Troy, making him smile at her support.

"You date is hot, coach," Aidan grinned at break time.

"Yeah, yeah, you just worry about the game…"

"She's coming down here…" Aidan widened his eyes and the team of young men looked up at the vixen Latino in their midst.

"Hi." Aidan smiled shyly with a blush.

"You boys are doing great! Just get more power in your rush when you go up in the left corner and you'll score even more!" Gabi enthused.

"Thanks, coach…" Troy arched his brow at her and she stuck out her tongue at him, making the boys laugh.

"She's amazing, coach." Aidan beamed, love-struck.

"I know." He said.

"No, she's really amazing. You should look after her." He added mysteriously.

"Apparently I have to look after you." Troy frowned at Gabi as she sidled next to him at the coach's bench. "Is there anything I can get for you?"

"No, I'm good."

"I missed having you around at these games…" he admitted.

"Well, it's my basketball expertise…" She smiled back.

"You're amazing, Gabriella Montez." He repeated Aidan's phrase.

"Troy what has gotten in to you?" She mused, finding his compliments hard to take. She didn't know what was real and what wasn't anymore.

"I'm seeing the real you, Gabi." He smiled a little with a blush. "I'm seeing what I should have all along."

Candy's words came back to her with a smack as he smiled at her cutely and she struggled to adjust to his new-found affection. She might have been in over her head for months but he was just waking up to the possibility of what they could have.

Only she couldn't understand what had changed so much that he was willing to let her in. So far nothing had changed except his intent to share his feelings. Only he had already admitted he didn't know what he felt. But she didn't want this to be one of those moments where he felt like he _should _be noticing her, just because everybody else was. If she hadn't gone on that date with Nick, would he have looked twice?

She wanted him to _want _her, all of her, missing no parts and censoring nothing. He may not be used to thinking of her _in that way_, as he had so articulately put before, but she had been thinking of him in that way for quite some time. Maybe in private, in her dreams and in her moments alone; but she had definitely imagined his hands on her body and his body joined with hers. It was he who had awaken her sexual desire; all those years ago and it was he she kept them silently burning for, despite her belief it was all in vain.

If she couldn't fulfil her fantasy; and make love with her very best friend in the world, then she may as well just sell her soul to the devil because if she wasn't with Troy then it didn't mean anything. It was just sex, an act to break her hymen and launch her into official womanhood.

The game carried on with ferocious pace, forcing Gabi back behind the coach's bench where she was safer from the marauding ball and flying players.

Afterwards, once Aidan had been dragged away by his parents and she had answered his probing questions, she leaned into Troy's arm and sighed.

"I'm beat."

"I know, let's go home," he smiled softly, scooping his arm around her to help her out.

After his shower, when he was comfy in sweat pants and a vest; when they had eaten Chinese takeaway and laughed and shouted at the TV, they snuggled together on the sofa, Troy taking Gabi's feet into his lap and touching his fingers to her calves.

"You're up to twelve…" He commented with a tired lift of his brow, laying his head back against the sofa and closing his eyes.

"Twelve?" She questioned, confused.

"Thousand." He added.

"Oh wow," she sighed, not expecting to earn so much interest.

"Over a hundred bids now, too." He added.

"Who's the highest?" She wondered.

"Aren't you checking?" He smiled, opening one eye to tease her.

"Well…"

"He's called AmazingGrace and he's from Antigua." He shared.

"Antigua?" She screwed up her face.

"What? He might be the perfect guy for you." Troy tested.

"I think you were right about the boy next door." She returned honestly, appealing to him to understand she was talking about him.

"But the boy next door never gets the girl…" he mused sleepily.

"Why not?"

"Because he's too much of a jerk to say 'I love you'…"

/

"Mmm…oh god…" Troy panted, waking to semi-consciousness from his dream. His delightfully delicious dream where he had been naked and writhing between Gabi's naked thighs, about to make love with her only in real life, his body had got too excited at that thought and now he'd had his first wet dream since he was eighteen.

"Troy…" Gabi groaned, reminding him there was in fact some reality to his imaginings as she wriggled in his arms for release.

"Oh shit…" He swore, letting her go and wondering how much of his dream he had inadvertently re-enacted.

"I'm sorry, Gabi…are you okay…I'm so sorry…" He whispered in his confused, desire laden daze, blinking until he could focus fully, aware of the damp patch in his sweats.

She touched his cheek and then leaned forward, kissing him softly on the mouth, surprising him. He pursed his lips to kiss her back, finding her pulling away again already.

"I'm okay." She assured. "But you came in your sleep…" She smiled shyly.

He closed his eyes and cringed. "God, this is so embarrassing…" he complained, gently shifting them so he could roll out of their comfortable nest and aim for the bathroom.

"I'm flattered that I could make you come…" She mused as she sat up and he frowned over his shoulder, about to disappear from the room.

"Wait, what did you say?" He asked, coming back over, cupping his crotch.

"I'm not really known for making guys, you know…drool or anything," she admitted. "I mean, it was my name you were moaning, I presume it was me, maybe there's another Gabi…"

Troy shook his head and tried to make his brain work. "Gabi, you are amazingly sexy, why would you ever think otherwise?"

"Because nobody wanted to have sex with me." She stated. "Because being a virgin is considered uncool to some people."

"You think being a virgin makes you _less _sexy?" He gawped, wondering if he was hearing this. God, but just the thought of her untouched and un-had was setting his blood alight and his groin rock-hard. As if that little wake up hadn't been evidence enough.

He knelt down before her, ignoring his uncomfortable pants while he gently touched his hands over hers, as she sat on the sofa.

"It's an incredible turn on for a guy, knowing you are all pure and all his…" he husked seriously. "You don't need to be in red lace underwear and do a lap dance to turn a guy on, god, Gabi, you're sexy as you are."

"Then why won't _you_ have sex with me?" She whispered outright, shocking him even further.

"Because I don't 'have sex' anymore. I want to _make love_." He insisted.

She nodded as his message hit her loud and clear. He wasn't in love with her and although her body might be enough to make him have an orgasm, she wasn't what he wanted.

She watched as he padded back toward his shower, wondering if last night hadn't been the worst mistake of her life. _Maybe he would never really love her. Maybe she would die a virgin._

"One minute to go!" Taylor shouted excitedly as they foursome gathered for the final countdown, Troy hovering nervously at the back of the group and feigning disinterest as he 'read' his basketball theory books.

"What's the bid?" Chad asked.

"$14.5 thousand…" Taylor awed.

"Who's winning?" Gabi chipped in next.

"ArcticMonkey." Taylor replied.

"Where's he from?" She begged.

"I don't know! By time I look the auction will be…" She paused, her mouth ovalling in shock. "Its over. Ohmygod. He won. ArcticMonkey won!"

"He did?" Gabi felt the panic rise in her chest at the giganticness of what she had just done. "He really won?" She whispered.

"Whoa…" Chad shot out of his seat to catch Gabi as she became faint and sucked in quick, shallow breaths of air. "Breathe, Gabi…"

"Oh my god, what have I done?" She despaired. "What have I given away?"

"Just think of the money…" Chad attempted and Taylor shook her head sharply.

"Gabi, honey, you wanted this, right? You were the one who…"

Her loud wail silenced every other word that might have been uttered.

"I'm such an idiot!" She bawled.

"Now, it's not that bad. I'm sure you can refund the money and withdraw the auction…" Taylor rubbed her back.

"I can't believe I did this, I can't believe I just sold my _virginity _online to some _creep_!" She panicked. "I only wanted…" She paused, and then closed her mouth.

"I'll get some tea…" Chad suggested.

"No, wait." Gabi stopped him. "I just need to be alone right now, okay? Can you just go and leave me alone?"

Chad and Taylor looked at each other in confusion and then back at her.

"Honey, we're not leaving until you've cancelled this thing and you're making sense again…" Taylor argued.

"Please." Gabi begged. "Please, I want to be alone."

"Well okay…" Taylor got up and stood next to Chad for a moment. "If you're sure…"

"Yes, I'm sure…" she whispered, pale and shaking.

"Troy?" Taylor called to the forgotten body in the room.

Troy slowly scraped his chair out from under his desk and walked over.

"I'd like him to stay." Gabi said to her other two friends.

Taylor lifted her brows and promptly dragged Chad out of the flat, shutting the door very gently behind them as they went.

Gabi was left with a sick feeling in her stomach and having to tell Troy he was right and she was wrong.

She stood up and felt the tears peel down her cheeks, pooling at her chin and dripping off.

"I should never have done this stupid, stupid auction…" She began regretfully. "Just please don't tell me 'I told you so'," she begged.

Troy watched her in her vulnerable moment and knew he had been in love with her for longer than he could even determine. It had always been there beneath the surface only he'd always been too afraid of not being good enough for her. He had his chance to at least tell her how he felt now, so that she could be the one to decide.

"Actually I'm glad you did it." He announced, tipping his head to one side as his hands came up to cup her face and brush her tears away with his thumbs, like he had done so many times before.

"What?" She whispered, shocked by his statement. He'd fought her every step of the way until now.

He shook his head a little and blew a breath out through his nose, as if just realising something that was obvious before but he had missed it.

"I love you, Gabi. It took me seven days of imagining you making love to someone else for me to finally realise _I _wanted to be that someone," he mused. "But I did realise it. And I still want to be that someone. If you'll let me."

"I only did it to make you jealous, Troy!" She blurted. "Don't you see? I wanted you to care who I slept with. I wanted you to see me _in that way_, as you say…"

"I'm sorry I was such a jerk…" He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. "I'm sorry I said those things…"

"I love you, Troy. I want my first time to be with you. I want all my times to be with you…" She added with a blush.

He chuckled in his own delirious happiness and leaned down to kiss her properly, on the mouth. As their lips touched and their tongues melded, Gabi didn't feel the big flash she expected to. An old, forgotten flame had been burning steadily somewhere and kissing Troy was like fanning the fire that already burned, it just felt right. It felt like _them, _only more, only better.

"Oh my god…" She pulled away, distraught.

"What?" He asked, touching his thumbs to her cheeks tenderly.

"The auction…I'm sold. I sold myself to some ArcticMonkey who lives god knows where…" She panicked.

"Actually he lives in Albuquerque…" Troy supplied.

"What, do you know him? Oh my god, you looked him up didn't you? Is he old? Is he a creep?" She demanded.

His eyes glittered as he smiled fondly at her. "I know him, because I see him in the mirror every day. And I don't think I'm old but you might disagree…but I can't deny being a creep…" he smirked at this and slipped his hands down her sides to cup her backside. "I'd like to grope your ass now and then…"

"Troy, really, it was you?" She gasped, touched.

He nodded with a big happy grin and she tiptoed to kiss him again, pulling back as one last question crossed her mind.

"Why did it take so long for you to realise?" She wondered.

"It didn't." He admitted softly, cradling her in his strong arms, feeling his emotions bubbling over in his chest. "I just didn't believe that you could really love me…"

"Why on earth not? Oh my god, I've loved you for longer than I can remember…"

"Because I am a jerk, at times. Because I was a jerk for two years solid and I still have to make it up to you, need I go on?" He mused.

"You are not a jerk, Troy Bolton. And I love you so much," she kissed him again as they wrapped around each other and blocked out the world.

He was every bit as gentle as she hoped and it was every bit as amazing as she had dreamed. When she and Troy finally came together and he filled her with his needy body, her pain had been fleeting and then her pleasure had outshone everything else. He'd taken it slowly, so slowly she thought she might curl up and die and when her body had quivered beyond her control, she likened it to basking in sunlight at dawn- new feelings overwhelming her.

"Gabi…" he whispered later, after they had slept for a while.

"Mm?" She hitched up to look him in the face, smiling softly.

"I don't have fourteen thousand dollars…."


End file.
